


The Messenger: A Theorists Journey Through Time.

by spiderbenb



Category: The Messenger (Sabotage Studio Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-01-29 06:57:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 22,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21406066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiderbenb/pseuds/spiderbenb
Summary: A Group of Messengers across Time and Space band together to stop the destruction of all timelines and save the multiverse set within the universe of The Messenger Video Game.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter One: The Theorist

The Tower of Time stood still within The Void, ever so slightly moving to a location where a Messenger had made it to Glacial Peak and had successfully summoned The Tower so that they may begin The Time Gauntlet, a challenge specifically designed by The Artificer to test Messengers of their skill. He's proud of his work, and he should be. When I completed The Time Gauntlet, is was designed specifically for my move set and powers, and it was a challenging endeavor, to say the least. Yet here I stand within The Tower of Time sorting through many books and reorganizing them by when in the timeline they took place until I'm faced with the "Where" portion of their stories, that's when I just put them in Alphabetical Order. I'm not going to bother with the Where and When these stories took place.

As a Theorist, I tend to make Theories on certain Timelines and hope that eventually one of them will be right. The Shopkeeper doesn't seem to care, as long as he's not roped into my "Crazy Theories" again, He was never one to stick around, despite them being very well versed and thought out. The Prophet, however, is always happy to hear what I have to say. He's very...Loud when it comes to my Theories, although he does have a tendency to shut some of them down and prove why my theories are often incorrect. The Artificer...He's just mostly interested in making more Challenges for the current Messenger, and that's good for him. But here I am faced with one individual that escapes me at every turn.

The Archivist. A Mysterious Blue Robe...Actually, I'm not even sure if he is a Blue Robe, to begin with, but he alludes me. I've seen him around, but The other Blue Robes avoid him like he's not even there. Not out of rudeness of course, but perhaps out of fear? The Archivist is amongst one of many individuals that I've met that I still don't know anything about, and yet despite his story being here on the bookshelf, his own magic triumphs over my own. I can't even remotely open the book to read it without him leaving for some Alternate Timeline to...collect votes? Whatever he's doing...I'm unsure of his motives.

During my Travels as The Messenger, I was known as The Theorist, coming from a Village on the far west side of the Island where the practice of Magic was underway. In my Timeline, A Messenger allowed the people to understand how magic worked using The Scroll. From my understanding is that The Scroll can be whatever you need it to be in your time of need. Even a catalyst for making the demons more powerful and threatening. With every Positive outcome, a Negative is sure to follow. I was given The Scroll by a dying Messenger as the demons tore through The Village and slaughtered everyone in sight. I was the remaining survivor of the village, however, I did not escape unmarked. I left the village covered in ash and blood. Both my own, however with the magic I had learned, I was able to keep the pain at bay until I had met someone on my journey that would be able to heal my wounds, but that would not happen until after I entered The Time Gauntlet and defeated The Arcane Golem, and as such, I started my Journey towards Glacial Peak from Autumn Hills.

My Story is one of Bloodshed, Revenge, and Betrayal. Exactly in that order, and it will make sense in the later chapters of this custom book that I have attached to my own Story within The Tower of Time. Whoever finds this book, I beg that you keep reading. My story may not seem important, but it will share many details that you will need to find the truth for another story. Godspeed Messengers, And may my story enlighten you.


	2. Chapter Two: The Greed Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist Reminisce's about his first meeting with a greed demon and The Shopkeeper.

My Adventure begins with a blood trail leading from The Village that was currently smoldering and turning to ash into Autumn Hills. The Demons had attacked everyone insight with all their might including the previous Messenger in an Armour Suit, whom of which was called "The Knight" He passed The Scroll onto me and he stayed behind to protect The Village as best as he could. The Screams of the village people echoed throughout the sky and for a split moment I thought I saw people falling from the sky, but perhaps that was an After-Effect of The Demon Magic running its course through my injured leg. I ran as fast as I could throughout Autumn Hills and avoided any Demons in my path. With The Scroll in my left hand, I gripped onto it tightly and put it into an empty holster on my back, and with my right hand on my leg, I tried to stop the bleeding as best as I could as I stumbled throughout the hills. I was frantic to escape and both eyes faced forward I didn't think of looking back for a second as the echoes died out as I got far enough away from The Village.

I ran and ran until I fell into a pit that was too steep for me to climb out of, and even with my leg, I wouldn't be moving anytime soon. My eyes were blurred and everything seemed distorted like I was looking through a Kaleidoscope. The area in front of me by at least a foot was completely distorted and twisted every time I tried to make sense of it. The pain in my leg had finally settled in, and I screamed in pure agony as I sat up against the cliff that I had fallen off of. I clenched onto my leg and could see how bad this injury was, The Demons had learned much more dangerous magic and were not afraid to flaunt it. How they can use such powerful and insidious magic was beyond me, but I could feel from how the demonic magic was draining me of my magic. It was curious, to say the least, however, with what little magic I had left in my arsenal I could do so much for my injury, and decided to numb the pain instead of potentially wasting more magic on something that might not even be curable. I sat there in silence and looked up to see the smoke from The Village enveloping the sky like a dark storm was forming overtop, and soon it blackened out the sky so much that the moon was no longer visible from where I was sitting.

I decided to spend a few moments looking at my leg and examining how the demonic magic was working throughout my leg. It was slowly turning to dust, like a fire slowly burning through a log and I could see the embers chewing away at my skin and muscle rather slowly. It was strange to see that the demons use a slow-acting magic like this, but perhaps they just want us to suffer through everything just a little bit longer. I had perhaps only a few hours before it would devour my entire leg, and perhaps even an entire day before it destroyed the rest of me. I remembered that within all the confusion that I still had the scroll on me. Upon realization of this matter, I decided to examine The Scroll, but with how my sight was acting I couldn't read what was on the scroll, I had just hoped that perhaps someone else will come by and take the scroll someplace safe.

I knew the stories of The Western Hero, It was fascinating that every Five Hundred Years a hero would show up to protect us from the demon onslaught...but it seems that our future is drawing to a close as I somehow knew that deep down...The Knight had lost his life in that battle. However, he carried out his mission to protect The Village and did so until the bitter end. Even so, the way The Knight appeared on a Pale Horse as he galloped across the ocean like it was a flat surface was...exciting to view. However that sight of a Four-Headed Demon was enough to instill fear into all of us who were still alive after the initial barrage of fireballs, and we watched in horror as this large and in charge Demon tore a hole in the fabric of our reality to unleash his Demon Army upon the last remaining humans on the entire island. The Knight strolled into town acting as the new sheriff and removed several demons from existence with his Broadsword and Sling. He was very polite and soft-spoken when he approached the large Demon and addressed him as "The Demon King." He even simply asked them to leave the people of The Village alone, but the maniacal laughter of The Demon King still echoes in my ears even now as I write this down. The Demon King sent his Demon Army into The Village and soon disappeared. Before anyone could do anything The Knight handed me The Scroll and asked me to keep it safe from The Demons and to make it to the tallest mountain in our land. The tallest mountain in our land is Glacial Peak, and that was my destination.

But I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The injury has spread from one leg to the other and soon was etching and clawing its way up my chest. I was not making it out of this alive and had I not added that numbness spell I would be screaming in agony as I slowly turned to dust. But I could feel how light I felt as I turned to ash in that pit, but something compelled me to try and stay alive, to try and stick it out just a bit longer. It was all darkness, and soon everything came back into focus.

"Hey pal I don't have all day, So get up will ya?" A voice rang out as I found myself sitting just a few feet away from where I had sat originally. I looked up to see a Blue Demon. "The names Qayble, I'm a Greed Demon." I looked up at this Greed Demon and introduced myself as well as thanking him in the process. "Do me a favor and next time you fall in a pit like this, or get killed...Try to be more careful. As much as I enjoy taking those Time Shards you collect...i don't like this place. Especially with those demons running amok. Now get back to your adventure...and check the damn shop will ya? The Shopkeeper has been waiting for you." And just like that Qayble was gone in a flash of light.

While he brought me back to life, he, however, could not stop the demon magic from spreading around my leg. I looked at my surroundings a bit more clearly and had noticed I was sitting next to an empty gate, and with a much closer inspection, The Gate had revealed itself to be a doorway to someplace new and seeing that I had no other way of escaping this pit I decided to enter the Gateway. With the strength I had, I stood up and walked into the Gateway and was transported to a small room with an assortment of items around the place. Most notably a large counter with a figure in a Blue Robe standing just behind it.

"Well, The Artificer is gonna be disappointed about this bet. Welcome to the Shop, Messenger! I am The Shopkeeper." The figure in the Blue Robe said as seemingly put down a glowing orb. I slowly walked up to the counter and just leaned on the counter in pain, and The Shopkeeper took notice of this. Waving his hands in an arch he brought two masks into existence for me. "These masks will help you on your journey, They are magical and can aid you in many situations. Such as getting out of that pit and keeping that leg of yours free from turning to ash." He said as he handed me the masks. "Thanks, These Magical Items will most likely help me out here, I feel like I probably should've had them earlier though," I said as I examined both Masks.

The Blue Mask seemed to grant me knowledge of Magical Properties around me as well as upgrading my current move set to that of someone more...athletic. The Red Mask, however, gave me the ability to use a particular weapon that I did not have on me at the current time, but it seemed that I would be able to use such a weapon with particular ease. "Yeah, don't worry about it. That's why Felicia Fantasy invented them." The Shopkeeper said as he also ducked down behind the counter for a moment. I asked him who Felicia Fantasy was and he told me it was just an acknowledgment to get out of the way. I didn't get it, but some will. "Ah, here it is, Your weapon for your Journey. A Naginata." The Shopkeeper said as he pulled out a long staff with a large curved blade at the end of it. I asked him why he couldn't just bring it into existence along with the masks and in a very sassy tone explained that if he could do that, he wouldn't need Messengers to deliver The Scroll to the mountain top and amongst other things, he trailed off on those things though, and I didn't bother asking him to explain further as I saw no point in it.

"So, you know what to do then? Take the Scroll to Glacial Peak, and from there Four Members of The Order will wait for you there. Be sure to pop by every so often too, I'll have upgrades for your weapon and masks. So, Do You need anything else?" The Shopkeeper asked me. I asked him to explain what the Timeshards is and he simply explained that they would allow him to give me any upgrades that I might need in the future. I just need to collect a certain number of them and trade them, and there seems to be a few good upgrades that I should probably grab when I have the chance. "Do you have any stories to share?" I asked him thinking that I might as well see if this Shopkeeper had heard anything in his travels, sure enough, he had a story lined up for me.

"A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. At some point of the journey they argued, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand "Today my Best Friend slapped me in the face." They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone. "Today my Best Friend saved my life." The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied with "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

I asked The Shopkeeper what the moral of the story was and he explained it simply as "Don't value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life." I applauded him for his story and said that I would return soon. I took my leave and re-entered Autumn Hills, and looked forward to the adventure ahead of me. In this Timeline, I was The Messenger.


	3. Chapter Three: A Corrupted Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist learns something new and enters into a future where all is lost.

Now, While I'd love to explain how straight forward Autumn Hills was for me, I think you'll get it when I say it was very lackluster and not a whole lot was happening. I was informed about a Leaf Monster coming out every Full Moon, but I was fairly certain it was a Quarter Moon that night, so I had no problems strolling past that area. "*Ahem* **Theorist, I need your grave assistance in an important matter here!**" I look up from my journal and see none other than The Prophet standing in the doorway to The Library. The Prophet never calls for my assistance, He'll usually ask The Shopkeeper or The Artificer, but this seems important.

I walk into The Portal Nexus and see everyone looking into The Scrying Orb, it seems there's a new prophecy to be seen. "Alright almighty Theorist, What do you make of this vision?" The Shopkeeper says as he moves aside to make room for me and extends his arm over top The Scrying Orb. Walking up to the Orb I see The Prophet and The Artificer look away in concern, seems whatever is being shown...is not a good one. I peer into the Orb and see what everyone is concerned about.

_"Alternate Universe in Peril...Demons Attack...A Blue Robe Falls...The Cycle Begins Again In A New World...No Scroll is Given...Multiple Messengers at Once."_

I look up in silence trying to comprehend what I've just seen and I now understand why they need my help...they don't know what this can mean. "Has The Archivist seen this yet?" I asked the group, finally breaking the silence after a few moments. Both The Prophet and The Artificer shook their heads, while The Shopkeeper explains that he's disappeared again. The Archivist tends to disappear to some other Timeline for certain periods and his reasons that he won't share...It's very frustrating at times. "And before you ask...No, The Scrying Orb doesn't say anything else or the exact location of this prophecy." The Shopkeeper said as he walked back towards his Shop. The rest of us try to put our heads together to try and figure this out, but nothing was coming up for us.

We all head back to our separate areas and something gives me an idea, I grab my Masks and Naginata and headed towards The Artificer, he seems confused then suddenly very happy. "**DO YOU WANT TO TRY THE TOWER OF TIME CHALLENGE AGAIN**?!" He screams at the top of his lungs with the utmost joy ever. Before I could tell him what I'm asking for The Shopkeeper, all the way from his shop tells "Shorty" to cool it. I stifle a laugh and tell The Artificer I need to enter The Corrupted Future, and the look of fear on his face told me all I needed to know, The Artificer had gotten the means to open the portal again to The Corrupted Future, and he knew what I was after. "Theorist...Are you sure? That place killed our old Messenger and nearly destroyed The Arcane Golem when that...Abomination appeared." The Artificer said as he walked slowly towards the inactive portal. I nodded and told him it was for a good cause, our old Messenger died there and we were unable to retrieve The Scroll from its grimy depths, it also doesn't help that our old Messenger was swallowed by that Abomination and we've forced our timeline into a standstill until we could figure out a way to get The Scroll back. The Artificer opens the portal and stands back. "If my theory is correct...And I retrieve The Scroll...We might be able to avoid that Prophecy." I said just before I enter The Corrupted Future. For a moment before the portal closed behind me I heard The Artificer say "I hope so...Godspeed."

The Corrupted Future was a barren wasteland, not a single human was in this future...except the ones falling out of the sky, but there were still many Demons around the place, and that's why I brought my weapons with me. I removed the Blue Robe, leaving it at the portal and I put my Red Mask on. The surge of power I feel when I wield both this Mask and The Naginata is nostalgic and the memories of my time as The Messenger flood back to me. Although I take a moment to re-evaluate how things worked. I'm able to slash and throw my Naginata to kill Demons with ease, I'm also able to spin The Naginata around me as a defensive barrier, This should make my trip into The Abominations belly a bit more...relaxing. I try on my Blue Mask and its powers remind me that I can dodge and evade upcoming attacks, I can also jump and float for some time. Pairing The Naginata with The Blue Mask however I can use its powers to wield The Naginata in such a way that it aids in my platforming as it's able to catapult me a far distance as well as using it as a platform to grab a ledge just out of my reach, I familiarized myself with my arsenal for a few brief moments before running into The Fog.

In This Corrupted Future, our world was twisted and bent so badly out of shape that just getting to any of The Music Notes was damn near impossible to see with so much fog, but The Messenger after me was, in fact, able to collect Four of them. I can still see the scratch marks and dried blood on the ground where our Messenger lost her life, and yet... I can still hear the bloodcurdling screams as she begged us to...The thoughts trouble me still, but that's a story for another time. I walked towards the edge of The Fog and stared out into The Abyss...and I see it staring back at me, The Abomination rose from the murky goo and roared at me, I flinched for a moment but stood my ground. I watched as it got closer and closer to me, and then...Darkness swallowed me.


	4. Chapter Four: A Red Herring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist meets The Archivist, and forces things back into motion.

_"That was a Dumb Idea, Theorist." _I opened my eyes noticing that I was there in The Void and in front of me was The Archivist. It seems he brought me into The Void before The Abomination could swallow me whole...and I suppose I should be grateful to him for that, but I'm not. _"If you wanted The Scroll back all you had to do was find me. I had gotten it back a long time ago." _The Archivist said quietly as he held The Scroll out to me, but kept a tight grip on it as if I was not allowed to touch it again. "Why go through so much trouble to bring me here, when you have no clear interest in us? For a Blue Robe, you make The Shopkeeper look polite." I said in retaliation, out here anything could be said and as it stands now, The Archivist was here to provide some answers. _"I'm not a Blue Robe, I was born a long time ago, as far as predating The Flood itself. " _We stood there...well...technically floated there for some time and I had so many things to ask him, so many questions and before I could make a remark about his poor track record, it seems he already knew what I wanted to know about him. _"You are angry with me, but I have more important matters to discuss, you are trying to break free of that Vision that was shown. I indeed saw it with my own Scrying Orb, however, it has nothing to do with our expanded timeline. There is nothing you can do to stop it."_

I stared at him and felt nothing but anger towards him. This being thinks he can just...come and go as he pleases without giving anyone a proper answer? Does he think that he can just keep everyone in the dark?! I put on my Red Mask and wield my Naginata and it was perhaps a dumb idea, but he's hiding things and I'm sick of it. _"You are extremely proficient in your weapon, so much that The Arcane Golem could not match your attacks, I will not fight back, however, I will not allow you to threaten me this way. Continue on this path and you will see the powers that I fully possess, Theorist." _He may seem powerful, but moving in and out of this timeline is just a stupid party trick, as I lunged at him with my speed I was stopped in my tracks and found myself staring at a Window with so many strange individuals. _"These people, are the ones outside of our Timeline that will become the newest Messengers. I understand your anger towards my actions, and how I have been secretive towards you and the others. I will send you back to The Blue Robes, and with The Scroll in hand. If there is anything you wish to know...You can find me within Hollow Grove, just North of Bamboo Creek."_

Without another word, I was sent back to The Tower of Time in front of The Portal to The Corrupted Future. The look of surprise on The Artificers' face when he saw me holding The Scroll was so intense that he forced the others to come to his location straight away. **"BY THE GODS YOU HAVE THE SCROLL!" **The Artificer screamed as the others come to witness my supposed feat. For a moment I thought The Shopkeeper would remove his Hood, he was that close and almost didn't believe it himself however he kept his hood on. "This fixes our Timeline...You did it. We need a new Messenger now! Shorty, I need you to change The Tower of Time so that it can travel to the point most in need of a Messenger. Prophet get working on those prophecies! I'll be in my Shop, Theorist...We need you to deliver that Scroll to our newest Messenger!" The Shopkeeper said as he rushed everyone into position. I had no time to explain how it all went, but they didn't care, We had The Scroll and it needed a Messenger to carry it.

We traveled far ahead to a point where The Demon King attacked a village of...Women? Where are all the men...You know what? I don't need to know, I called upon my mythical ally and flew through the village on a Simurgh, A large flying Peacock with the head of a dog and talons of a lion. It's a bit of a mixed bag, but it's a majestic creature. We were halfway there when I threw my Naginata at a few demons, killing them instantly and landed a foot away from what I presume is our next Messenger. "YOU AGAIN?! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS AGAIN, THEORIST!" The Demon King Shouts at me as I defended this young woman. "You know well enough that you cant take me down, Demon King. Go back to Forlorn Temple with you!" I shout as I put on my Blue Mask and wave my hands to forcefully teleport the demons away. "That was...intense. You're The Western Hero aren't you?" The Young Woman said to me in awe. I nodded and told her that she needed to deliver the Scroll to Glacial Peak and that the world needs a new Messenger. "I'd love to go! The Empress shall travel as The Messenger!" She took the Scroll and ran off towards Autumn Hills, and as soon as she was out of sight I was sent back to The Tower of Time in a flash of blue light.


	5. Chapter Five: Hollow Grove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist comes face to face with new facts and meets a new ally.

The new Messenger was well on her way through Autumn Hills, and all seemed fairly quiet on all grounds. I didn't bother returning to my Blue Robe outfit as I saw it as unneeded, especially if I wasn't one of the previous messengers that would "go mad" so to speak. "*Ahem* **Theorist! I notice that you are about to head out, Would you be so kind as to create a portal to any new area that you may find? Our Messenger might find her path blocked and will have to take an alternate route at some point!**" The Prophet called out to me just as I was about to take a Portal to Howling Grotto. I simply nodded and took off with my Masks and Naginata in hand and was met with a familiar sound of rocks being punched out in the distance, The Emerald Golem had been punching away in these caverns for centuries and with all the work he's done, I'm surprised a new area hasn't been discovered here yet...perhaps soon. I jog back through Howling Grotto, knocking back any Demons in my path and just seeing all these notches and gashes in the walls remind me of when I was The Messenger and traveled through this area for the first time. The Memories flood back to me and everything feels very old school all of a sudden.

My memories take me back to when I was still injured, I had just defeated Ruxxtin...or in the very least just knocked him over and had taken my time walking through Bamboo Creek. The vast cavern system took me by surprise, not by how long it was, but by how many large gems were protruding from the walls and ceiling. These gems held some special properties to them, however, nothing that I could use in my current state, I'll be revisiting this area at a later date...when I'm not slowly turning to dust of course. Before I could even move a step I got bombarded by a group of bats, and I had been swinging my Naginata wildly around the room, scraping and cutting everything my blade came into contact with, and when I think it was all over a stalactite that was hanging overhead falls and impales me. For a moment though... I could've sworn I heard a...jingle? Maybe a quick tune? I wasn't sure but all I know is that my Greed Demon Qayble appeared and brought me back to life at the entrance to Howling Grotto. "Listen, pal, You know that you can...Run right? Don't just stand around like that, Now if you'll excuse me... I was in the middle of a bar bet...and I might've lost." Qayble disappeared as quickly as he came and I had continued on my way through Howling Grotto and came face to face with The Emerald Golem, and as luck would have it I didn't need to fight him at all, he was making some small changes to his Golem and I simply asked if he could help me out to the next area, he was very polite and lifted me out towards Quillshroom Marsh.

The memories disappear and I didn't notice that I was already in Bamboo Creek, the area that The Archivist mentioned was behind the supposed "Boss room" of that area, There was no area at all, to begin with, but I see the opening and upon taking a step I tumble downwards into a small cavern. "Ugh...I'll have to make a mental note of that small drop," I said to myself as I looked up and saw a pathway leading deep into the cavern, deeper and deeper it went and not a Demon in sight surprisingly. The Cavern opened up to a small spring with several red-leafed trees surrounding the area. Several lights have been set up in the area as well as a few light shafts from above made it so the area wasn't as dark. "Hello, Friend!" I turn to see a young woman holding a cup of tea. "Oh Hi, Who are you?" I ask this strange woman. "I'm Del...I mean...The Archivist calls me The Astral Brewmaster! I take many of the rare herbs down here and I can make a cup of tea to aid you in your journey, but I'll need time to brew a cup of tea to perfection." The Brewmaster explained with such glee in her voice. I nodded and asked where I could find The Archivist, she shook her head at me and explained that I would need to gather some flowers for her so that she could give me a cup of tea that would help me find him. I didn't argue with this strange request as I had done stranger requests in the past.

"What will I need for this Cup of Tea?" I ask as I switch to my Blue Mask and fold my arms. She claps her hands and quickly runs to a large tree and the roots move aside to reveal a small shop inside of its trunk. "I'll need Three Daisies, One White Rose, and One Crateva Religiosa...or as it's called normally...The Spider Tree. Get me these flowers and I can make you The Tea of Percipience." I took the list in hand and walked off through Hollow Grove. I took care in not stepping on any Flowers or Plants that looked important, She was also kind enough to add a photo of each flower so that I can find them much easier, and while searching for these flowers I took time to marvel at this area I was in and it was magnificent. A Stream of crystal clear water flowed through the entire Grove, giving life to every plant in sight, The trees down here seemed to thrive on the water source as well and even seem to survive without too much sunlight, the ceiling of the cavern sparkled with smaller gemstones, and through the light shafts, I could still see Bamboo still hiding the area well. Hollow Grove was a beautiful and very peaceful area, it's been untouched by The Demons, I don't even think they know about this area. I collect the flowers with care and return to The Brewmaster in a few minutes. "Perfect! Take some time to reflect in the spring over there and I'll bring the tea to you when it's done." She says to me and points to a small outcrop with a small waterfall coming out of it, This must be the source of the water down here. I sit down by the edge of the water and I look deep into the pools of the spring.

The water swirls and shows me a vision of a potential future.  
_"A Fallen Messenger Reappears, The Doors to Reality Shift and Break Apart, Face to Face with a new Threat, The Rise of A New Age, Realities Collide."_

I look up from the vision and see The Brewmaster sitting down next to me holding a cup of sweet-smelling tea to me. "The spring here shows accurate futures...It's how I knew you were coming...Theorist. The Scrying Orbs are made using the water here...but with the new age of Magic far before your time...The Blue Robes forgot about this area and made their Orbs with their new fancy magic. Anyways...Please take your time to drink this Tea, It'll give you some insight for your journey ahead. Oh, and please...Be careful. The Spring shows you accurate predictions of the future, however, it can only work again after you drink my Tea. I don't know either, so don't ask how that works. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask." The Brewmaster walked off and left me to my Tea and my thoughts. Another Vision within a few hours? Seems like there is more to happen in my future, and finding out what that is will come to pass eventually, but for now...I'll relax and drink this tea for the time being.


	6. Chapter Six: The Dimensional Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist learns about the new device known as The Dimensional Window and remembers his time in Glacial Peak.

The Astral Brewmaster was very kind as to show me a spot where I could place a Portal back to The Tower of Time, and even Configuring The Portal itself I can tell that I would be in this area quite a lot. "Please be careful out there as well. The Archivist has been very distant lately and quietly mentions of Demons becoming more and more dangerous these coming days." The Brewmaster says in a scared tone, I reassure her that there is a new Messenger and that's probably why The Demons are becoming more active as of late. Before I could step through The Portal she grabs my wrist and hands me a letter. "Please...Hold onto this for me. You'll know when is the proper time to read it." The Brewmaster lets go after I grab hold of the letter and I reappear back in The Tower of Time's Portal Nexus. "*Ahem* **Welcome back Theorist! I see you have created a new Portal to Hollow Grove! Thank you very much! The Shopkeeper was looking for you and was hoping you'd meet him in his shop!**" The Prophet announced in his usual tone the moment I took a step towards him. I nodded and headed off towards The Shopkeeper.

"You needed to see me?" I said as I walked in and left my Naginata by the door and approached the counter. "Yes, It seems we have an issue with our new Messenger. She's gone." I tilt my head to the side in a confused manner and waited for him to explain further. "She's not dead...But she's no longer here. She came by to drop off The Scroll and just left without another word..." I glance over and see The Scroll sitting next to The Scrying Orb...or rather just leaning on it. "Need me to go out there and look for her?" I ask as I go to grab my Naginata. "No, actually I need you to look through The Dimensional Window and find us a group of people in different realities and bring them here. We need some extra hands over here...But if it's not too bold to ask, can you finish the quest that The Empress has ditched?" Shopkeeper said as he held out The Scroll to me. "You want me to become The Messenger again? After last time?" There was a moment of silence as we both knew what I had been referencing. The Memories flood back once more, but I will never be fond of these.

I was nearing The Summit of Glacial Peak when I was ambushed by a vast array of Demons. Seems they knew I would be here, and so did The Demon King himself as he stood there. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SURVIVE THIS TIME, THEORIST! WE KNEW YOU WOULD COME HERE!" The Demon King shouted, so much so that I felt the mountain shift a bit from the intensity of his voice. Although so many Demons were on the mountain top, none took notice of the very noticeable gateway leading to The Shop, I had to make sure they couldn't enter it at all. Slowly inching towards it I try to keep The Demon King occupied. "What? You're going to kill me? Like you killed everyone else? You know damn well that you will not win this battle." I also taunt him with the fact that he still has to come every five hundred years just to kill one person, and how he still manages to fail at ridding the world of humans. This infuriates The Demon King as he swats his demons away so that he can get a clearer shot at me, but...doesn't take it as he still sees that I'm suffering from his Demonic Magic that's slowly turning my body to ash. "YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT TO YOUR DESTINATION ALIVE, THEORIST! NOT AT THIS RATE!" And he was right, The magic had spread up my body and was slowly inching it's way up my neck. Every movement I feel myself getting weaker and weaker, even making it to the top of Glacial Peak I felt like I was going to collapse into a pile of dust, But my Determination kept me from falling apart. Even though The Demon King said so, it didn't stop him from slamming me to the ground, and in doing so released a large plume of dust into the air.

I force the memory to stop there, as even thinking back on it still gives me a bad feeling. "Just lead the way to The Dimensional Window and I'll give it a look. What sort of talents should I be looking for?" I ask as I follow The Shopkeeper into the higher levels of The Tower of Time. "Just...find a group of people that looks like they could work well together in this world. Adventurer types, Intellects, Mechanics. The usual." The Shopkeeper said as he led me towards a large stained glass window. The Window expands and shows off different timelines in this universe of ours. Different Outcomes, Different Messengers, Different Worlds. The Dimensional Window allows a user to look at different timelines and to find a place that is in the most need of a Messenger. However, instead, we are viewing Timelines where There is no need for a Messenger and those have already gone through their cycles. "I'll leave you to it, Theorist. Bring as many as you think we'll need." The Shopkeeper said as he left me to decide on a group of Messengers to bring to our Timeline, and choosing who I would bring wouldn't be too difficult, as I already knew who I would bring into my Timeline. 


	7. Chapter Seven: The Messengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Using The Dimensional Window, The Theorist along with The Brewmaster search through and find new allies to join the fight.

My eyes scanned through every pane of glass on The Dimensional Window, I looked for someone of interest that could see things much more differently until I gazed upon a world where the overall look of life was a different style of sorts. I peered into it and saw The Messenger that defeated The Demon King using an odd technique. I could only view the past of this Messenger and from there I can determine if I should bring this person of interest into my world. I place my hand on The Dimensional Window and watch as it shatters and realigns itself to form a much larger window for me to gaze into. I looked upon the world of The Artist.

  
The Artist lives in a world where the form of art and magic align to create a different sort of fighting style. The Artist Elder provides insight into this fighting style as a way to fight using your art. In some way or another, The Messenger here can use her large Ink Brush to create symbols in the air, and upon completing those symbols they form a vast array of attacks to defeat The Demons and their king. The Artist provides a different outlook on life and would be a valuable asset to this team. I'll add her to the list.

The Dimensional Window shatters and spirals back to its original shape so that I may look through more timelines. However before I could look into another reality, I hear soft footsteps behind me and it's none other than The Brewmaster herself. "Sorry for interrupting, But The Archivist asked me to deliver a message to you. He's gone and won't return until he finishes an important job elsewhere. Something about...The Demon King, He was in such a rush I couldn't make out all the details. But...Do you need me at all? It's a bit lonely in Hollow Grove." She said whilst looking perturbed. "Yes. I'm looking for a few new Messengers to bring into our world. Can you help me spot a few likely candidates?" I said while motioning to The Dimensional Window. The Brewmaster nodded and helped me spot a few more ideal Messengers. "How about this one? He's known as The Guardian and does is best to protect everyone with his Masamune, or what about this nice girl here? The Questioner? She looks more like the bookworm type rather than a fighter though." The Brewmaster pointed at them both and The Dimensional Window split apart into two separate windows for our viewing.

The first window showed us The Guardian, He lived in a world where The Demons constantly attack, and only his village is the last line of defense to keep The Scroll safe, However, it seems in his last battle he was able to drive back the forces of The Demon King and protect the rest of the island. The second window, however, shows us The Questioner, A young woman surrounded by books of all sorts. She was someone who could fend off the demons with her knowledge. And as such, it seems she can use enchantments from certain books as she uses that as her weapon. Her time as The Messenger ended when she was able to not only defeat The Demon King but seal him in a Dark Book and locked it away in a secret location. Both seemed good, but I spotted one more potential Messenger before The Dimensional Window showed us The Guardian and The Questioner. An individual who uses their power over Musical Instruments to push back the demons. They are appropriately named The Musician and they can use a variety of instruments as the way of fighting against the demons.

"I think we've found our Messengers, Now to bring them back into The Tower of Time," I say as I wave my hand across The Dimensional Window and choose our four new Messengers to bring into this Timeline. The Dimensional Window constructs four doorways that we can enter through to find our Messengers. "I'll go grab The Artist and The Questioner, Can you go and grab The Musician and The Guardian?" I ask as I grab my gear and ready myself. "Oh, sure. Shouldn't we have some Tea beforehand though? I brought some ingredients along for a cup of Honey and Lemon Tea." The Brewmaster said as she dug around in her bag and pulled out some already hot cups of tea. I asked her how she did that but she avoided the question and instead gave me a cup of tea.

"So, what sort of powers will this give me anyways?" I ask as I'm about to take a sip. "You'll earn the power of flight and be able to read the minds of everyone around you." I nearly drop my cup of tea until she puts on a straight face and just tells me it's just a normal cup of tea. "I thought I smelled something sweet." Both me and The Brewmaster turn to see The Prophet walking towards us. For once he isn't talking in his "Prophet Voice." and asks if he could join us for some Tea before our Journey. We all sit down in front of The Dimensional Window as it illuminates the room and goes back to it's shattered form as we haven't interacted with it for a while. Each shard of glass gives off a different color to reflect that of its timeline. We all take a moment to relax for once and drink our tea and reflect on what the road ahead awaits us. 


	8. Chapter Eight: New Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Messengers are collected slowly one at a time and join in on The Theorist's Quest.

We took a moment to reflect on our mission before leaving, and The Prophet bid us good luck and went back to his post just so he wasn't part of it all. We had to grab four different Messengers to return to this timeline so that we may find a correct course of action to fight against this Demon King. I was unable to do it during my time, and I'm still unable to do so now, but with the help of these four Messengers, we should be able to destroy him. The Brewmaster and I walked through The Dimensional Window one at a time and went to find our Messengers. The first Timeline I stopped by was the one that held The Artist, and the world seemed very calm and collected. I spawned at the village and seeing it so colorful was a welcoming surprise for me after seeing what my village ended up as. "Hello! Can I help you? You look lost." The Village Elder walked up to me with a confused look on their face. "Yes, I'm looking for The Messenger...I believe her moniker should be The Artist?" The Village Elder nodded and motioned for me to follow them through the village. Everything was bustling and every few blocks there would be a group of children and adults alike drawing on the walls or the ground. It seems even after defeating The Demon King in this Timeline The village became much more relaxed and happy once their Messenger returned to them. "Artist? There is someone here to see you, He seems important." The Village Elder said before walking off whilst waving their cane at some hooligan children.

"How can I help you? Unless you're here to deliver a Scroll to me, I've already defeated The Demon King in this Timeline." The Artist turned to me keeping a steady grip on her weapon. "I come from a Timeline where The Demon King has tapped into extremely dangerous magic that will affect other timelines if he isn't stopped...I can't defeat him without the aid of other Messengers, that's why I came to your timeline first in hopes that you and your talents would come help me with my battle." I pull out a small Sake Bottle and take a tiny swig from it to keep the pain away and I don't doubt that she might've noticed, but my wounds are hidden from view. "If I help you, how do we know this will work? I am not the only Messenger you are recruiting correct?" The Artist asks with a raised eyebrow. I simply explain that we don't know but the more help we have the better chances we have at defeating this variation of The Demon King. The Artists agree to join us, and with a quick pit-stop, The Questioner joins us reluctantly as she seems to have known this would happen one day. She's certainly a prophet in her own right. "We have a problem, The Guardian won't join us. Says he will only join if the leader fights him to gain his trust. And that leader is you, Theorist." The Brewmaster says as she's followed by The Musician. I nod and tell everyone to stay behind while I chat with him.

I walk back through The Dimensional Window and appear in a small village at dusk and there stands The Guardian in the middle of town. I pull out my Red Mask and hold onto my Naginata tightly whilst walking towards him As if by the way we both stared down at each other from afar we both agree to a duel. The pair of us stood silently in the center of the village, nothing but the sky slowly turning from a dim orange to a dark purple portrayed the passage of time to us both as we stood there. "You are The Leader are you not?" The Guardian spoke in a soft tone, but loud enough for me to hear him. "I am indeed, I am The Theorist and I require your assistance in my Timeline, The Demon King has tapped into magic far beyond our control and it will take more than one of us to defeat him. We have already gained a few allies from different Timelines, and we would hope that you would be our final addition." I spoke loud and clear to him. The Guardian rushed forward and drew his blade, our weapons clashed against one another like a dance between two partners. "Should I join you, Will you be truthful and honest with everyone on your team? Truth and Honesty is the way to fully gain a bond with these Messengers that you have collected." The Guardian spoke as he held his ground against me. "Yes, I will. It is a promise that I can keep until I am but Dust and Echoes." Those words alone seemed to have convinced The Guardian to join our group. We both shook hands at a job well done at each others fighting styles and walked back through The Dimensional Window to join the rest of the group.

"Ah, The Messengers. I did not expect you all to arrive so soon." The Shopkeeper had been waiting for all of us outside of The Dimensional Window in The Tower of Time. "I have a free upgrade for all of you, Something that should keep you all connected if any of you were to split up and go someplace else." The Shopkeeper holds out small circular gear like objects for everyone. "What are these?" The Musician asks as she holds it in her hands with a curious gleam in her eyes. "It's called a Parlance Apparatus or the ParApp for short, You put it on your wrist and you can speak to one another if you are all at different locations." The Shopkeeper said as he handed everyone a ParApp. "If you need me...you know where to find me." The Shopkeeper said before he disappeared in a flash of blue light. Everyone seemed a bit confused about what to do next, but The Brewmaster knew exactly what to do as she pulled out several cups from her bag. "I brought some special tea with me in case we needed an idea on how to move forward in our quest, This tea does have a side effect of making you relive an old memory...I haven't figured out why that is, so be prepared everyone." The Messengers all sat down in a circle and enjoyed their tea while chatting with each other. We all learned more about one another until I felt a memory flooding back to me. The same one from before, Glacial Peak with The Demon King. I wasn't looking forward to it, but it seems everyone else was going through this at the same time, and in a single moment, The Memories Flooded back to me once more.


	9. Chapter Nine: The Colossal Champions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist returns to an old memory and has support from two old friends to push back The Demon King.

The Memories flooded back to Glacial Peak, and I lay there in the snow-covered in ashes and embers. I could feel myself falling apart with every breath, but I couldn't give up, not when I'm that close. The Demon King doesn't seem to be aware of the door to The Tower of Time just a few feet away from him, I don't think he can see it anyways. "YOU WILL STAY DOWN, THEORIST! YOU CANNOT BEST ME IN MY PRIME!" The Demon King shouted as he swiped me off the ground and towards the edge of the cliff face. I slowly stood up and brandished my weapon once more, I was not about to go down without a final push. However I could feel my life slipping away, if I took another step or another attack from The Demon King, I would surely be scattered and turned to dust upon impact. I kept my footing and planted my Naginata firmly into the ground Blade first to keep me steady. "I'm not going to let you win, Demon King. Not here, and certainly not now.

The Demon King has had enough of me and blasts a fireball in my direction, I couldn't do much but take the hit. I simply closed my eyes but felt the heat stop just before me, followed by a small simmering sound. "Hey, little guy! We heard you could use some help from your friend, The Chronicler." There stood before me was Colos and just climbing up the cliff behind me was Suses, Colos had stopped the fireball from finishing me off thankfully. "Nah Bro, I think you meant The Recorder," Suses interjected as he stood next to his Brother. "Are you sure? I believe it was The Transcriptionist." Colos said in return. "Interesting, But I can firmly assure you that it was The Historian," Suses said while scratching the back of his head. "WE SHALL AGREE TO DISAGREE." The pair said at once, and all, while this was happening The Demon King, floated in the air with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Colos, Suses. You both need to help me fight off this Demon...I can't do it alone...I'm too weak right now." I said as I held onto my Naginata, Visibly weak and unable to stand on my own. "Nonsense little guy! We shall take care of this Demon ourselves! Right Colos?" Suses said as he held out his foot to Colos as if waiting to high five him. "Right Suses! You stay somewhere safe Little Guy! Get your strength back up!" Colos clapped Suses' foot and the pair jumped at The Demon King intending to give him a good walloping.

The Demon King simply laughed but soon regretted that as Colos gave him a good punch across all four heads all while Suses jumped high into the air and waited for his brother to get into position. Colos had punched The Demon King hard enough downwards that he hit the ground hard enough to crack the ground around them all. "Ready Colos?" Suses said as he started to fall back down towards Colos. "Ready Suses!" Colos planted his feet firmly into the ground and once Suses got into range he volleyball him towards The Demon King, Hitting him into the chest. It seems The Brothers were very coordinated with this attack as Suses propelled himself off The Demon King and back towards Colos so that he may hit him back again and again. I didn't see what their plan was at first but now I see what they had done. Colos had attacked all heads at once to disorient them as one head cant operate without the rest, and with Suses being volleyed against the chest of The Demon King, they had been pushing him closer and closer towards the cliff edge. The Brothers stopped doing their Volleyball attack and jumped on top of The Demon King to seriously bash the skulls until the cracked. With each crack in the skulls, I could see an odd energy escaping the skulls until finally, The Demon King was able to throw them off of him. "THAT'S ENOUGH! I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY TWO SMALL OGRES!" The Demon King yelled out loud, and that alone seemed to spark one final attack from Colos and Suses. The Brothers locked arms and were readying for a final attack, but I could see The Demon King getting his dark magic ready. I took the chance to fling my Naginata at one of the heads to throw his aim off. Both The Brothers gave me a thumbs up and with a good swing Colos threw Suses feet first at one of The Demon King's heads and watched as it shattered under the pressure. The Demon King stumbled far enough back that he slipped off the side of the cliff and landed with a rather large THUD at the bottom.

Colos and Suses walked towards me and with a smile under my mask, I gave them both a fist bump. "That was impressive you two. Thank you for coming to my aid." I said as I stood up slowly. "No problem Little Guy! You have a Journey ahead of you and if you need us again, We'll be in Searing Crags!" Suses said as Colos cautiously walked to the cliff edge and looked down. "Bro! He's gone! Did we defeat The Demon King?" I walked with Suses towards Colos and looked down to see that The Demon King was indeed gone, but he left a very sizeable hole in the ground from where he landed. "THIS CHANGES NOTHING THEORIST! YOU WERE LUCKY THIS TIME! NEXT TIME, HOWEVER, EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT WILL DIE BY MY HANDS!" The Demon Kings' words echoed through the air, Seems he was able to escape for the time being. I collapsed into the snow, extremely weak and I could feel the dark magic eating away at me more. "Brother! Don't we have enough Power Thistle Soup left to give this little guy? He seems very weak, and he smells of burnt meat." Suses said as he carefully picked me up into his arms. "We do Brother! Come, Let's take him back to The Soup Pot!" Colos said in return. "WE SHALL SAVE YOU, LITTLE GUY!" The Brothers said at once. Suses carried me back the entire way back to Searing Crags and was able to give me a large bottle of Power Thistle Soup. Whatever was in that soup was enough to keep the Demon Magic away for far longer, but it's cursed power still eats away at my body. I am indebted to The Brothers for saving my life that day, and suddenly the memory fades away until I am back in The Tower of Time along with The Messengers.


	10. Chapter Ten: The Temporal Disruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Messengers are just about ready to head---Is that a dog??

With each Messenger gearing up and ready to leave out in search of The Demon King we were stopped in our tracks by The Shopkeeper. "Sorry, But The Scrying Orb shows that I can't let you all leave yet. Something is out there...or will be out there soon that will cause a massive temporal collapse...So powerful it broke The Scrying Orb." The Shopkeeper said as he revealed The Orb in several pieces. "We can't just sit on our butts waiting for some threat to start killing people. We're leaving for Searing Crags now, We'll take the shortcut down into The Underwor--Is that a dog?" I trailed off as I noticed that The Artist was holding a small brown dog that was not there previously. "Pitou." The Artist said with a grin on her face like she's having the best day ever. "I know it's a dog...But where did it come from?" She repeated the word "Pitou" over and over again while giving the dog scratches behind the ear, and soon she dropped to the ground to play with the dog. "Artist...We need to head out, the fate of our worlds rests on our hands we cant sit down and---no not you guys too!" The others had dropped to the ground to all play with the dog as well. "Look, Theorist! Pitou!" The Guardian said happily as he held the dog up to me. "I...It's a cute dog, but we can't stick around any longer. I'm sure he'll still be here when we get back." I said as I activated the portal to Searing Crags. "We...Can't take Pitou with us? What if he's super smart and leads us somewhere special?" The Musician chimed in as she also looked pleased to see this particular dog. "I'm...not gonna argue...Alright, We'll take...Pitou with us. That's his name, right? Pitou?" I looked down at the dog who seemed to have barked in agreement with me.

I had given up at that point and so The Artist, Guardian, Musician, Pitou, Questioner, and Myself left for Searing Crags straight away, I, however, had asked that The Brewmaster return to Hollow Grove to form a new Scrying Orb for The Shopkeeper. The moment everyone stepped into Searing Crags we were strangely greeted by Colos and Suses. "Little Guy and Friends! Be careful in this area, The mountain began shaking and it got super hot all of a sudden!" Colos said as he waved his hand in front of his face trying to cool off. Suses handed me a large bottle of Thistle Soup "Here you go, little guy! This soup will help keep you and your friends on your feet! Be careful though! The Underworld started spewing Lava when we got too close." Suses said as he handed me the soup and pointed at the entrance to The Underworld. It had indeed been spewing lava everywhere. "How are we going to get into The Underworld now? We need to get in there at all costs." The Guardian said visibly frustrated. Colos stepped forward and pointed in a direction "Little guy, On one of our daily jogs, we noticed that on the far edge of the island, past Glacial Peak is an underwater forest, The old humans used to call it The Illusionary Forest because of the strange fog that caused hallucinations. Near the center of the forest is some sort of sinkhole, we think it might lead close to The Underworld, or in the very least to a cavern that will lead you to The Underworld." We all took a moment to decide on what to do and agreed that The Illusionary Forest is our best bet. Colos and Suses agreed to throw all of us over Glacial Peak and into the water near The Illusionary Forest.

SPLASH!  
SPLOOSH!  
SPLUSH!  
BOOSH!  
SPLATTER!   
BARK!

We all hit the water one after another, and for a moment we realized how large this underwater forest was. "How are we going to get down there? The Forest is pretty deep..." The Questioner asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. The Musician suggested that we all make our way back to shore to think of a better way down before we all drown. However, I simply waved my hands in a pattern around everyone until we all started to sink into the forest. "What sort of trickery is this, Theorist?!" The Guardian yelled at me in fear. Clearly, his world did not show much in the ways of magic and I simply explained to him and everyone else that I can have us all breathe underwater for an extended amount of time until we find what we are looking for. As we all sank to the ocean floor, we soon found ourselves marveling at The Illusionary Forest. Although it has been underwater for several decades, The forest is still growing and blooming with plant life, and with the bioluminescent fish swimming around The forest, all the light from these various fish give off an otherworldly glow to the area. "So...Where do we go from here?" The Musician asked as she examined the plant life with extreme curiosity. "We need to head for the center of this forest, let's get going until we find this cavern that Colos and Suses mentioned earlier," I said as I walked with everyone.

With the magic I wove into existence to allow us to breathe underwater, it also allowed us to walk on the ocean floor and keep us dry all at once. Everyone seemed thankful for that last bit, even Pitou seemed pleased with me. "It's strange here, isn't it?" The Artist said as she held Pitou in her arms and kept him comfy as he slowly fell asleep. "I agree, This forest should be nothing but decayed waterlogged trees and this grass should be very much dead." The Guardian said as he kicked the grass and watched perfectly healthy grass floating in the water near his head. "You know...If we were able to seclude this place and make it habitable for people, I don't think the demons could get us down here...can they?" The Questioner asked as she observed the plant life more closely and noticed several trees still had fruit growing on them. "Perhaps, But we'll have to do a lot of magical work to have this place become untouched by the water. My magic only extends to a few individuals." I said as I moved ahead of the group to find what we were looking for. Soon enough we come to a large sinkhole that constantly draws in water down into it, as well as any fish unlucky enough to swim near the currents. "Is this it? Do we dive down into it?" The Guardian asked as he held onto a nearby tree to ensure that he doesn't get sucked into the sinkhole. However before we could all decide on what to do, the sinkhole got deeper and suddenly expanded outwards as we were face to face with a rather large underwater predator.

"It's a Leviathan! Be on your guard and attack when you have the chance!" I yelled as I grabbed The Artist and jumped away from The Leviathan swinging its tentacles towards us. "Where do we attack it?!" The Guardian yelled as he had also grabbed The Questioner and The Musician and all of them were safely hidden away in a tree. Through careful observation, The Artist noticed several large bulges on its body. "If we can attack those bulges, it might force The Leviathan to retreat!" She yelled to everyone else as she pointed to three large bulges protruding from The Leviathan. I took a moment to look at this Leviathan as the large bottom portion of its body was that of a large Squid, while the body portion is that of a strange creature with webbed talons, and the head, of course, being a rather scary looking shark. However before we can form an attack strategy a large explosion is heard and the entire forest and ocean ripples and shakes, soon enough The Sea Leviathan cowers in fear and swims off into the depths of the ocean. "What the hell was that about?" The Guardian said as he helped The Questioner and The Musician out of the tree, me doing the same as I help The Artist and Pitou out of our tree. "I'm not sure, But that was a powerful explosion, We should press for--" Before I could finish my sentence The Shopkeeper appeared and teleported us all to the shore.

"We need to get back to The Tower of Time now, We have a serious problem and we all need to figure out a plan of attack." The Shopkeeper said with extreme worry in his voice. Before any of us could decide another explosion is heard and all of us saw what was happening. A large black and red storm cloud appeared on the horizon showing what appears to be a large demon walking towards The Island. "YOU THINK YOU ARE SAFE NOW MESSENGERS?! THIS IS THE EXTENT OF MY POWERS IN THIS TIMELINE! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO MEET YOUR END!" The familiar voice of The Demon King is heard Although with the black clouds surrounding the horizon it's extremely difficult to make out if we're looking at The Demon King or not. "We need to get back to The Tower of Time...Now!" The Guardian said as the group joined up with The Shopkeeper. "Everyone goes on ahead, Tell Prophet I'll be coming in through The Hollow Grove portal with three others and to close down all other portals connecting to The Tower of Time," I said to the group and gave them a confident nod to leave me behind for the time being. The Shopkeeper understood and returned all the other Messengers to The Tower of Time in a flash of blue light. I put on my blue mask and propelled myself using my Naginata towards Searing Crags. I arrive on the top of Searing Crags where I would usually meet Colos and Suses, but assumed that they have remained near the portal where we first arrived, I jumped down the chasm and took notice that most of the Demons were cowering in fear of everything that is happening, I continued my descent and indeed found both brothers blocking the entrance to The Underworld with large boulders. "Colos! Suses! We need to get out of here now! It's no longer safe on this side of the island, We need to head to Bamboo Creek straight away to grab one more person before we head to the safe haven." I said the moment I saw the brothers, They didn't argue and agreed at the same time to join me.

Back in Hollow Grove, The Astral Brewmaster was packing up several key items she needed into a bag and waited near the fountain. "Please hurry Theorist...The waters show me all the worst things imaginable." The Brewmaster said to herself as she clutched her bag tightly out of fear. I ran as fast as I could with Colos and Suses, all the way past Quillshroom Marsh, down through Howling Grotto, and finally, we find ourselves making a mad dash towards Hollow Grove as the ground beneath our feet begin to shake and with a glance I see that Glacial Peak is starting to crumble apart under the force of a large demonic hand crushing the tip of it, although the head of this large demon is still vastly obscured by clouds. Colos and Suses and I ran down to find The Brewmaster shaking in fear as she saw what was happening using the fountain of water. "Theorist! We need to leave now! Please!" The Brewmaster begged me the moment we arrived. "Right, This way everyone!" I yelled at motioned for everyone to follow me up to the portal leading to The Tower of Time, and the moment everyone was through The Prophet closed it behind us. "Colos, Suses. Welcome to The Tower of Time." I said after we had a moment to breathe. "Thanks, little guy, Without you we wouldn't have known to run after seeing Glacial Peak fall apart!" Suses said as he gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "Theorist...What do we do now?" The Guardian asked as the other Messengers and The Blue Hoods stepped forward. We all looked through The Dimensional Window to see the destruction this demon was causing and could tell this wasn't going to be easy for the foreseeable future. I put on my red mask and turned to everyone. "We fight."

End of Part One.


	11. Chapter Eleven: The Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Messenger returns to home out of fear for their life, and a plan is formed.

Everyone seemed worried about what to do at this point and needed a moment to relax. The Musician had pulled me and Shopkeeper to the side and simply asked for us to return her to home. She had her reasoning behind it and both of us agreed that she should return to protect those that can't protect themselves. "I'm sorry to see you leave like this Musician, but I hope that you had a good time and made new friends," I said as I readied The Dimensional Window for transport. I didn't hear her say anything, but upon turning to look at her she simply nodded and stood next to me. "Please...Be Careful and take care of everyone." I nodded and bid her farewell as she walked through the portal and back into her own Timeline. "Theorist...We cant fight against The Demon King like this, He's simply too powerful to take down with just a handful of us." The Shopkeeper said with a hint of concern in his voice. "We cant just...leave this place behind. Given how powerful he is now we can't just leave him to roam around, he could find his way into other timelines." I spoke to him as we walked back to the others. "Theorist? Where's The Musician?" The Guardian asked as everyone turned their attention to us. I explained to everyone that she felt unsafe and wanted to return to protect her village back in her own timeline and that if anyone else would want to leave, that is understandable. Nobody took a step forward at that moment and stayed where they are, even Pitou sat down like a good boy. 

"LITTLE GUY! WE HAVE AGREED THAT WE SHALL JOIN YOU WHEN YOU NEED US!" Both Colos and Suses said at the same time as they both took a step forward, but further added that they would rather join us when we need a little extra muscle in our ongoing quest, almost like we could call upon them on some sort of cooldown. Shopkeeper brought everyone into the shop after that quick announcement and introduced everyone to a rusted old Sink. "I wouldn't trust drinking anything out of that." The Guardian said as he ran a finger around the sink and left a very noticeable mark that his finger left behind. Everyone took a step away from the sink and looked to The Shopkeeper for further information. "Well, I was going to tell you what the sink actually does, but now I don't feel like it. Now you gotta pay for that info." Shopkeeper said as he made his way back behind the desk and crossed his arms. With a very audible sigh, The Artist pulled out a small bag of Timeshards and dumped them on the counter and gently requested that The Shopkeeper tell us about the sink. "Ah, well you see The Money Sink was clogged a long time ago by other Messengers after they found no use for their Timeshards, even if they bought all the Upgrades and Toys. With help from our friend The Iron Hood...who has since locked himself away somewhere else in The Tower of Time, we were able to transform this Money Sink into...A Power Sink!" The Shopkeeper said as he changed the overall look of The Money Sink and turned it into a Power Sink...which really just made it clean and added a mirror to it. "...So what the hell does it do?" The Questioner asked as she tried to understand everything that's going on. He didn't think anybody would notice him rolling his eyes, but we saw it as he explained that The Power Sink will allow us to gain new powers and switch them around to our pleasure, almost like a new inventory system. Shopkeeper keeps making these odd references as if he's speaking to someone else, but none of us get it and he moves onto a more serious topic.

"The Demon King is out of control in his new form. With our current team, we cant face him without some extra hands. One of us is going to need to go and recruit more Messengers using The Dimensional Window, all while the rest of us try to find a way to slow him down. Who will be going to recruit others?" The Shopkeeper asked as he looked to everyone. "Theorist, This is your call, Will you be going to recruit others, or will you be staying here while someone else recruits more Messengers?" The Guardian said as he stood next to me. It was a difficult choice to make, but I decided to stay with the group and chose to send The Questioner to recruit others. Her knowledge and power could possibly convince others to join and help us. I trust her completely to make the right choices in who she recruits. It was down to The Artist, The Guardian, Myself, and Pitou to find a way to slow down The Demon King and save our worlds from total destruction, and to make certain that The Corrupted Future does not become a reality here and now.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Mechanical Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Messengers Decide on their plan and The Theorist remembers his time in an interesting area.

It wasn't long before The Prophet came up with a solution to our issue, he simply suggested that we head to The Skylands and obtain our familiars. "Well now, how do you propose we do that? Considering our familiars are in different timelines." The Guardian asked quietly. The Artist was far too busy to notice what's going on with the situation, she was happily playing with Pitou, and I had struck up a conversation with The Shopkeeper about our current predicament. Shopkeeper intervened and said, "It doesn't matter in which Timeline you're in, your familiar will join you with a simple whistle and will come to your aid." Shopkeeper returned to our conversation when in burst The Artificer with a gleam in his eyes. "You guys need to go to The Clockwork Castle! I'm sure The Concierge will help you!!" Both Shopkeeper and Prophet looked at Artificer like he just won a prize. "That's a brilliant idea!" The Artist said as she snapped her attention to everyone. "The Clockwork Concierge might potentially give us some info on how to defeat this version of The Demon King, We need to head there now so we don't waste any more time!" Pitou ran after The Artist as she walked towards The Portal Nexus but suddenly realized that all the portals were closed for a reason. I walked with the group from The Shop to The Portal Nexus and I remembered the first time I walked into this very same room and discovered another new location. The Memories were flooding back once more.

"Good job in dealing with the problem in Cloud Ruins, I knew you would save that creature. It's a...Lion...Peacock??" The Prophet said as he escorted me from The Shop into the large room. "It's a Simurgh, and Thank you," I replied gently holding my side as the dark magic had become far worse since the time on Glacial Peak, although the soup had worked some wonders, it simply kept the magic at bay for a little while longer. "Theorist, Welcome to The Portal Nexus, these will take you to many locations throughout the Island so that you may continue your journey as The Messenger!" The Prophet opened several portals all leading to a few familiar locations. Autumn Hills, Searing Crags, Glacial Peak, and Quillshroom Marsh. Some were still closed off, but the ones that caught my eye were the very unusual broken portals that seemed to have crumbled. "Hey! While you're teleporting around with no care in the world, can you fix the portals in some of these locations?" The shopkeeper had yelled from his Shop. I simply nodded and walked up to some of these broken down portals, they all had a plaque on the ground that showed where each one would take you. "Why have I never seen these locations before? Like...Where is The Illusionary Forest, or what about Hollow Grove, I haven't even seen this area here...Automaton Arcadia?" I said as I took a great interest in the last portal, which judging by its portal is made from large metal pieces, but more circular and jagged. "You'll find the entrance to Automaton Arcadia through Howling Grotto, surprisingly it's right next to the portal entrance there, you just have to move a few boulders out of the way to make your way into the depths, It's been a very long time since any of us have been down there...so we're not sure what you'll expect to find down there." The Prophet said in a hushed tone, as if not to disturb the other Blue Robes. "Then I'll head there, What do I need to do to activate the portal once I find it?" I asked just as I was about to step through the Howling Grotto Portal. "You'll figure it out, it's in your power to do so." The Prophet said cryptically. I knew straight away where I needed to go, and it seems The Emerald Golem was already digging through the area. "Hello, old friend!" I spoke loud and clear enough for the golem to stop digging and turn in my direction, He seemed happy to see me again. "Hello! I was just digging through these rocks, I heard about an old legendary city far below any other location on this island, and I had to find out for myself...sadly I can't quite fit into this small opening...no matter how hard I try to smash it open." The golem gestured towards a small hallway that's made entirely of old metal but still seemed in good shape even after being buried for an unknown amount of time. "The Blue Robes sent me to this location, if I find any Ore down there, I'll be sure to let you know, do you think you can clean up this area a bit so I can come and go through this entrance when I need to?" I asked as I admired the metal up close. "Sure thing, I'll have this area cleaned up in a few minutes! Good luck down there Theorist!" The Emerald Golem moved out of the way and let me pass into this dark hallway. It was extremely dark but I managed to find my way walking down a long flight of stairs and eventually into an opening...and I was astonished at the sight before me.

Automaton Arcadia was a large city made from metal and stone and within the pathways in this old city were...bodies? Strange bodies made of smaller metal pieces that mimicked humans. I walked through the old city and found a center to the city where many bodies lay and seemed to have been crawling...no scrambling to the inactive portal. "Something happened here...I need to find out what exactly it was that caused this place to become...how it is in its current state." I spoke softly to myself as I scanned the buildings around me and noticed a small building labeled "Automaton Museum" and promptly went inside to check it out. I walked through the small building looking at the statues and many small books that described what happened in the city. "So if I'm reading this all correctly...Before the land was flooded, a city was built underneath the ground so that many...scientists could experiment in peace with a new unknown metal, that could easily be bent and conduct electricity, these...automatons were meant to mimic and eventually replace the humans above the ground so that life would become easier...but the land was swallowed by the sea and a cave-in trapped all the humans. They died of natural causes, but the automatons kept living on and developed their society, until one day the cave entrance that was sealed so many years ago was reopened by a Messenger looking to map out the island, they gave the Automatons new hope and brought the Automatons items from the land above the city, the Automatons could not leave the city, but the further advancements in Magic, they could slowly but surely live outside of the city limits, away from their original power source. However the demons found their way into the city and corrupted most of the Automatons, those that were not corrupted ran for the portal, however only one was able to make it through before the portal was shut down, the corrupted Automatons were destroyed by The Messenger, and the power source that was keeping the other Automatons alive...broke upon the demons attacking it." I held a book in my hands as I found it interesting and it also had directions on how to restart the power source, though it would require some sort of key, a key that seemed to have been lost with time. I gathered more books and made my way to the portal, and with the scroll in hand I understood what powers it gave me, I would be able to create new and reignite old portals all over the island, and with that knowledge alone I reignited the portal in Automaton Arcadia, and simply returned to The Tower of Time with my new-found knowledge.

The memories became hazy and soon disappeared as I was somehow watching several people argue about where to go and what to do. "Hey! I thought we already agreed on where to go, We're going to The Clockwork Castle and that's our plan!" I said loudly. Both The Guardian and The Artist looked at me and simply nodded their heads, Prophet knew what needed to be done and he opened The Autumn Hills portal for us. "Keep heading towards the Village, out above the sea will be The Clockwork Castle, be careful please." The Artificer said in a hushed tone. We all reassured him that we'd be safe, however before departing I asked The Prophet to look more into those books I brought back with me about Automaton Arcadia. He nodded and I joined the others as we ran through Autumn Hills as quickly as we could. The Demon King had not made it to this side of the island, as he seemed preoccupied with Searing Crags. "Theorist, How do you propose we make our way to The Clockwork Castle if it's floating in the sky?" The Guardian inquired as we slowed down to a jog. "Don't you remember what The Shopkeeper said? Our familiar will join us with a simple whistle!" The Artist said gleefully as she whistled loudly as we approached the destroyed village. "There you are, buddy!" The Artist pointed towards a Sphynx Cat that was trotting along the sky and slowed its descent towards us. I whistled as well, alongside The Guardian, however only my Simurgh appeared. "Where is it?" The Guardian questioned with a hint of concern in his voice. "We'll have to figure out where your Familiar is in due time, right now we need to get to The Clockwork Castle, hop on and let's fly!" I said as I mounted the Simurgh with The Guardian, and The Artist getting on top of her large Sphynx Cat. We all set out towards The Clockwork Castle together at a breakneck speed and hoped we would find answers there.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Clockwork Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Group makes their way to The Clockwork Castle, Meet a new Friend, and discover new information about The Demon King.

The ride up to The Clockwork Castle was quiet and somewhat peaceful, with the only sounds in the air was The Demon King smashing up the rest of Searing Crags, seems he was taking his sweet time in destroying the island. We approached the gateway and watched in awe as it opened up for us and out came a Blue White Sky Serpent with a bowtie around its neck. "Hello! I am Manfred, A Butler in training under the watchful eye of The Clockwork Concierge, He is expecting you! Come this way!" Manfred led the way into the castle and surprisingly it was a lot smaller on the inside than what was shown from the outside. "In here, if you would please." A voice echoed from behind a door just down the hallway. "Theorist? A moment of your time please." The Guardian said as we were just about to enter The Study where The Concierge was silently dusting off some bookshelves. I stayed back as The Artist walked in with Manfred by her side, and I caught a glimpse of how large the room was inside that small door. "What's on your mind Guardian?" I asked as I took the time to notice that he was disturbed that his Familiar didn't answer his call. "I...Would like to return to my timeline to see what's wrong with my Familiar. I just have this gut feeling that...something is wrong with my timeline." Before I could give an answer, Manfred wrapped his body around the both of us and brought us into The Study. "Sorry, but The Concierge needed to see you both," Manfred said as he left us all alone with The Concierge.

"First off, Allow me to introduce myself. I am The Clockwork Concierge, and along with Manfred we reside in this castle and tend to it as Butlers. Now, I do have some good news and bad news from The Blue Robes just moments before you arrived. Apologies Guardian, it appears that The Demon King of your timeline escaped its tomb and destroyed the entirety of your timeline and forced it to become...The Corrupted Future, that would explain why your familiar did not answer you. Deep apologies Guardian." The Concierge said as the rest of us stood there in astonishment. The Guardian sat down and took it all in, he had nothing left to go back to. "Concierge...you said that there was good news? What is it?" The Guardian asked as he looked up at him. "Ahem, Right. The Prophet mentions the lost city of Automaton Arcadia and reminded me that I have an old key the belongs down there. I would ask you Guardian...that you stay within this Timeline and protect the Automatons in the city. Ensure that they will live long lives and that no Demons make their way down there. I'm sure that the Automatons would repay you for your services, and should you wish to do so, you may also work here too." The Concierge further explained the city to The Guardian while The Artist stood next to me and asked me what the plan was once The Questioner returned. I simply told her we would need more people to join the fight then go on a full-frontal assault on The Demon King. Of course, that's just...One plan of many in case stuff doesn't work out." I say to her as Concierge is finishing up his explanation to The Guardian.

"Sir Concierge...? Can I see them now?" Said a voice just a few feet behind The Concierge. The group of us stand and stare in the general direction of the voice. "Of Course, Come out Zhinobi. Theorist, I would like to introduce to you Zhinobi, She was meant to be The Messenger you would've given The Scroll to however the person you gave it to...decided otherwise and has since left this world. Please allow her to join you on your journey to defeat this Demon King Incarnate. She can provide helpful insight that I have shared with her on The Demon King and this...Version of himself." The Concierge said as he gave Zhinobi a light push to join the group and she ran over and shook our hands. She was...Beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off her. "Should we head to the balcony to discuss the plan?" Zhinobi said to the group as she decided to lead us towards a small balcony overlooking a very impressive garden. "So...Tell us what you know Zhinobi." The Artist said as she crossed her arms. "Oh ok, where do I start??" Zhinobi asked, and after a moment we all agreed on where to start. "Tell us from the very beginning."


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Remnants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Zhinobi shares her information on The Demon King.

Zhinobi told us everything we needed in one large exposition dump from start to finish, as we all sat and listened attentively, to every single detail that was shared with us, we began wondering one thing...but first...we listen to The Zhinobi's Tale of The Remnants.

Deep within A Void made of Fire and Hatred spawned a Demon, the first demon to ever be created by forces outside of its realm. The words of its creator echoed within this flaming void. "Seek out and destroy all the humans outside of your void. That is your mission." The first demon was not as powerful as it hoped, but it knew it's home well. This void of fire was also made of an unknown substance, which is now known as Demon Magic. This demon tapped into its voids infinite possibilities and soon began a cycle of Demons. Many Demons were born from the empty vastness of their realm and soon everything took a form, land was created and food was fought for, there was nothing but chaos and an unjust ruler in this realm. One day a Demon born from Hatred and Malice was unlike anything other Demons had encountered, This one had its form of intelligence and decided that it would be their time as the new ruler, but the first demon was going to be destroyed first. This Demon would later be known simply as The Demon King. The Demon King tapped into The Demon Magic and amassed a following of loyal Demons by his side, one such known as Barma'thazel, who would become an important figure in another story. The Demon King and Barma'thazel as well as the many other demons stormed the castle of the first demon and rather destroying it, The Demon King absorbed his essence into himself, becoming the one true demon that will lead the demonic forces outside of this realm.

That day indeed did happen, many years after The Flood that plagued this world and left only Two Islands left standing. The Demons invaded and set Mankind back many millennia, however, one human stood above the rest and drove The Demon King and his army to the far side of the island, and trapped them beneath the island in their place to call home. The Underworld. This human that stood above the rest was The Messenger, This Messenger would fade into obscurity and would not be seen until another Messenger was needed to fight back against The Demon King and his Demons. Many Messengers were victorious in pushing back The Demon King, but many would lose their lives to him as well. That is until one day when we encountered The First Messenger again, and they were not alone, they had brought countless other Messengers and in one amazing attempt, pushed The Demon King into a corner, where other Messengers could use their powers given to them by The Scroll to split apart The Demon King into Remnants of himself. Remnants that upon defeat would bring The Real Demon King one step closer to his ultimate destruction, however many Remnants found themselves and combined to form a nearly complete Demon King. This version of The Demon King seen just recently is culmination of many Remnants coming together to attempt to destroy this part of the timeline..and with how much power this Demon King has, he is only one Remnant away from achieving that goal.

We must reach this Remnant before all is lost, and all Timelines collapse into nothingness, and while we know where this Remnant is, it has gone out of it's away to stay away from us and taken on a new form entirely. To draw this Remnant out into the open, we must make our way to Voodkin Island and use the altar on the volcano to force this Remnant out of hiding. This will play into our hand, but The Demon Leviathan that is now destroying the island will also know where the Remnant is, we must act fast now...or all will be lost.

We all sat there, amazed at the information that Zhinobi knows, we are lucky to have them by our side, but the group collectively had one horrifying thought at once, something that we would dwell on for the remainder of our days. What if we lose? Can we come back from all of that? All that matters now, is how to get to Voodkin island...considering that it is now sitting many fathoms on the ocean floor and without a Blood Moon to force it to rise from the ocean depths, the magic we possess cant get us down there. There must be another way. "Excuse me? Theorist? A word please." The Concierge appeared from the doorway and beckoned for me to follow him. Alone. I had done so and joined him in the study. "I received word that many Messengers are now gathering within The Tower of Time. It seems like your teammate The Questioner was able to recruit an army of Messengers. They will be transported here in a few days, as many more are still coming through The Dimensional Window...however I have some Dire News about The Questioner. Please sit down...this will be hard for you to listen to." I sat in the chair across from The Concierge and listened to what he had to say, and frankly... I was heartbroken from the news...


	15. Chapter Fifteen: An Unexpected Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason the group hears unexpected news that throws everything...Out of whack. Reluctantly the group Surprisingly decides one one thing. To honor their Extremely knowledgeable friend, Possibly one of the more Heartbreaking moments...

I was shocked at the news that I heard, I didn't know what to say at first... I just felt my heart sank. "Messenger? Should I give you a moment?" Occasionally I glanced at him, still shocked at what he told me, and I watched as he left the room. Revenge. Revenge was all I could think of at the moment, but I had to calm down and relax. "You're gone? Sorry, I couldn't be there for you." Things weren't looking good for the group at this point, and Everyone would be unsure about how to put a handle on things. Possibly we could...mourn for her loss, but we could instead celebrate her memory. Here's hoping the group will have time to find it in themselves to keep their minds and souls intact. Provided that I can muster up the Levelheadedness of the Exact ordeal and figure out a way to tell everyone how it is. As things are now...my mind is so...Scattered and Exhaustive. Let there be something, anything at all that we can all do to do for her, she fought so Extravagantly and with such Tenacity that from what I was told, she protected many others...Until the bitter end. She was a brilliant fighter and Theoretically...An amazing Loveable Know it all. All things considering of course, But Overall this was extremely...Unexpected. The questioner was...Talented in her studies, However, I will miss her the most. I miss you so much. Not a moment too soon, Gliding in from a door near the Study fireplace was the sky serpent. "I'm sorry to intrude, I was just dropping off these tissues...the group will need them." He glided out of the room and closed the door behind him, Of course soon after, People flooded into the study and filled it. "You know now...don't you?" After I asked the group this, they nodded in pure sadness. Understandably so the group Collectively sat near me at the fireplace and stared at the fire smoldering. Astonishing, however, was that they did not cry, they simply retold their fondest memories of her. Never a dull moment with this group, we all took turns sharing our memories of her excitedly, but sadly The Artist went first and talked about how well versed she was with arts and crafts, even sharing new ideas. Leading her to believe there was more Knowledge to read up on. "Y'know...even if we didn't talk that much, she was...Overly kind to Us all. Kudos to whoever was able to bring her body back to us." Now whimpering on the ground was Our good doggo, Who was showing some heavy Heartbreak and was trying to show some Other Worldly knowledge on to the group. Though we didn't understand him, we all simply nodded our heads and watched as the sad doggo laid on the ground in front of the fireplace. Often we could all hear each other sniffling, we wouldn't we be after learning of the horrible...Cause that happened to her. Our entire group grabbed the box of tissues and sobbed horribly...None of us knew what to do. They were gone...And Crazily enough The group wanted to press forward even after having one collective group...Moment, Except we couldn't decide on what to do.

"Theorist? Can we...hold a small memorial for her? Please? She would've wanted it." The Guardian said trying to keep himself composed the entire time. I took a moment to collect my thoughts properly. The Concierge had told the group of what happened exactly. The Questioner sacrificed herself to protect The Tower of Time from being raided by Demons from one of the timelines. She laid down her life valiantly and quite possibly saved many others from a horrible demise. She was so intelligent and was happy to help out wherever possible. "Yes...Concierge? May we...bury her in the garden? She would've loved all these flowers...Please?" Without a second of hesitation, The Concierge nodded his head and went to go prepare a spot for her. It took a lot out of the group to relocate her body from The Tower of Time to the newly built portal in The Portal Nexus that took us back to The Clockwork Castle. Emotionally the group was not doing so well, even The Zhinobi who had never met The Questioner was paying her respects, as well as The Blue Robes along with Colos, Suses, and The Brewmaster came to lay flowers around the area. It was a quiet ceremony, but we all agreed that what she did pave the way for victory, surely...right? All I know is that...We miss her.

I miss her.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confession is made, and an old friend reappears to give some advice.

After the ceremony, we all took a moment to sit and ponder on our current quest. The chances of defeating this enemy is slim, and even though we have many more Messengers making their way to our location, we are far from over. "Agh!? Damn it!" I fell to the ground clutching my side and could feel the group crowd around me, but I could not hear anyone. The world was a blur and it faded from view, but once I opened my eyes again I was in a new plane of existence. The ground mirrored the stars above my head and the pain that I had been feeling earlier had disappeared. "Theorist, We need to speak about something." I looked in the direction of the familiar voice that spoke to me. The Archivist. I stood up and noticed that the ground was not only a mirror but was a thin veil of water, and this plane of existence stretched out as far as I could see, and all I could see was bright stars of the night sky. "Your journey is nearly done, however your path to Voodkin Island will not be possible without my assistance. You see, While I am here, I have to stay within this Void with Three others to provide aid to another Timeline vastly different and more advanced than yours." The Archivist said as he waved his hand and the ghostly appearance of three individuals appeared, it seems they could not see me, but the way they were dressed I could tell that they were not from this world at all. "Who are they? What is this place?" I asked The Archivist. "These are Voidwalkers from another Timeline, they are here within their own choice, to help aid those in their Timeline, as for this place. This is The Void, however, it is minorly different from the one that you know of. These Voidwalkers come from a place where there is a bit of...Well...Let's call it Discord for lack of a better term. They may argue, but they help bring the stories I have to live. Together." The Archivist went on to explain more details, but those were not important.

"I need you to do something for me, and it requires...a lot." The Archivist said as he turned to face the three figures, who could see him and grabbed a book from him. He waved and left them to their devices. The three figures disappeared from view. "I've seen the battle against The Messengers and The Demon Leviathan, and the outcome is...not desirable. There are heavy casualties...However, there is something within Fire Mountain on Voodkin Island that will increase your chances of success tenfold. I can't tell you what that is, as any more information will change the outcome drastically. I have faith that you will find it. Good Luck Theorist and be warned...Your time is running out." I closed my eyes and I felt the familiar searing pain in my side and woke up to the group huddled over me trying to wake me up. "What happened? Are you ok?" The Artist said as she helped me sit up. I felt my side and when I go to look at my hand there is a scary amount of ash covering my hand. "Theorist...What is that on your hand?" The Guardian said astonished. I slowly take the time to stand up and I use my Naginata to help keep me standing up. "It's ash, I haven't told any of you this yet, But my time is limited in this world. When I first started my journey I was harmed with dangerous Demon Magic, the very same magic that gives The Demon Leviathan his power. Qayble...My Greed Demon can't revive me a certain number of times...Right now I'm on my last revive. We need to destroy this Demon Leviathan at all costs, and I will not rest until we know for sure that all of our Timelines are safe. This magic has been affecting me for...a long time now." I tell the group a bit more information before opening my cloak to reveal a gruesome sight. Nothing but skin, various exposed muscles, and bone was all that was left of my body. My magic, on the other hand, allowed me to keep my body from falling apart on the spot.

"Why didn't you tell us this from the beginning? Don't you trust us?!" The Guardian said as he threw his hand in the air angrily. "I didn't wish to make you all worried about my condition, I feared that it would only hinder our progress if you all constantly worried about me, and...If you knew how fragile I was, that you would refuse my offer to help my Timeline." I said as I sat down in one of the nearby chairs. The group fell silent and I could tell each of them was thinking of something to say. After several minutes of pacing and thinking, The Artist finally said what I had been hoping for. "We're in this together, and if we don't defeat this Leviathan, all of our timeline will be lost. We need to be more honest with each other, no matter what secrets we may have." We all agreed on what was said and looked out to the horizon, and just as the night sky was peering through the clouds, we saw the moon shine brightly. "There! Do you see it?!" The Zhinobi spoke up, and for a moment we had all forgotten that she was here. The Zhinobi had pointed to a formation of rock in the distance. Soon an explosion is heard as the formation of rock was a volcano that began spewing hot ash into the waters near it. "It's an island! Is that...Voodkin Island?!" I said and as the volcano kept shooting hot lava into the air, we saw that it was forming smaller islands around it. "That's our next destination everyone. Voodkin Island. Let's get prepared for travel."


	17. Chapter Seventeen: A Quiet Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Group Splits apart and go do their own tasks, The Theorist feels his emotions come back hard at him for the first time this journey.

The group had packed away a few supplies before we were halted by The Concierge. "Theorist, I believe it may be better if you were to travel to Voodkin Island on your own. I require the aid of your friends in another matter, The Zhinobi will be providing access to Automaton Arcadia for both of them. There is something there that will most likely tip the balance in your favor." I nodded and let The Zhinobi show both The Guardian and The Artist the way to Automaton Arcadia, for whatever may rest there. I watched the trio leave and just as I was about to climb aboard my Simurgh, I was halted by The Shopkeeper. "More Messengers are coming through The Dimensional Window, Is there a place where you would like me to send them when the time is right?" They asked as they kept trying to fix their hood from flying off of their face due to the high winds of the evening sky. Although the attempts failed as the hood flew off for a moment before The Shopkeeper teleported away and came back a moment later with a rather cool hat keeping the hood in place. We stood there in silence before The Shopkeeper bid me luck in my journey.

"Oh and one more thing. I don't care how short this break will seem to you, But so god help me if you tell anyone what I look like, I will break my foot off in your ass." The Shopkeeper said, in a rather threatening manner. As for "break", I didn't seem to understand, but I suppose someone will.

I took off in my Simurgh and the journey towards Voodkin Island would be a long one, I let my Simurgh flow with the breeze towards the island and in the meantime, I need a nap. Elsewhere underneath The Emerald Grotto was The Guardian, The Artist, and The Zhinobi leading the duo towards Automaton Arcadia and explained the situation in the city to the pair. "The City is in ruins now, but that key The Concierge gave you will give you an edge in this battle, Guardian this city will need a new protector...As for The Artist, We will need your special powers given by The Scroll to brighten this city up a lot." The Zhinobi explained to the group. The Scroll gave the power of colored life to The Artist, her drawings would be imbued with the power to bring life to anything that it touched, but only to entities that were once previously alive. The group set out across the city and watched as The Artist spun her large Brush above her head and allowed the magical droplets of paint to splatter all over The Automatons of the city, and soon the once defunct citizens sprang to life and thanked the group for returning them to life. To show their appreciation they revealed what the city had been working on, and from a hidden cave in a nearby wall next to the city's power source was a large clockwork bird of sorts. "What is this? An Owl?" The Guardian asked questionably. The Citizens explained that this was a mythological creature known as a Strix, Or at the very least it was meant to represent one. The Clockwork Strix. "The key in your possession will give you ownership of The Strix and you will become The Guardian of The Automaton Arcadia. This Clockwork Strix here won't be affected by The Demons in any capacity as it's imbued with old magic from a time before The Flood. Place the key into the hole in its chest and turn until the key is sucked into the hole itself." The Guardian did so and felt a new power surge through the air around him. He gained a new Mythological Companion and gladly took up his new post as The Guardian of this Timeline.

Meanwhile, Back in the air, The Simurgh had been attempting to stay clear of Voodkin Island as the ash and smoke billowing out of The Volcano was too much to bear. We stayed clear of the island for now and simply let the breeze keep us afloat in the air. "The sunset is beautiful...It reminds of a time when... I met her." I trailed off and felt another memory flooding back, however, this one was more...personal. "Theorist, This is The Healer. We found her in a Timeline where...The Corrupted Future extended to the past, we're not sure how it managed to do that, but She was The Messenger in that Timeline. We brought her here in hopes that she might be of some aid to you in your journey." The Artificer said with glee in his voice. "Thank you, Arti! You're such a good boy." The Healer said while giving The Artificer a good head pat. We both watched as he ran off back to his workshop. "I'm glad to have you here, I could really use some help with my...condition. Artificer told you I assume?" The Healer nodded and without hesitation attempted to heal my wound with her magic. I explained that this magic was far too advanced, but I appreciated the attempt. I decided to show her the current area where I would be going through. Forlorn Temple and it was going to be a real challenge. "What...would you like me to do?" The Healer asked as I readied my Red Mask for offensive magic. "Just...keep yourself safe please, I don't want you getting hurt." The two of us blasted through Forlorn Temple, and I misunderstood her magic, she was brilliant at healing and damaging. Together we nearly emptied out Forlorn Temple, until I was side-swiped by The Demon King. "Theorist!" The Healer screamed out in fear as I felt a large portion of ash escape my cursed body. I felt my vision fade slightly, but I knew she was there with me. She held my head up and I could suddenly see her very clearly, however, I was unaware that time had passed immensely. From what The Healer said is that she used her magic to greatly damage The Demon King to the point where he once again disappeared from sight. The Healer made him retreat when he could have killed us both.

I sat down against the wall and felt The Healer use a multitude of different magic to heal my wounds, and surprisingly a combination of her magic was slowly reversing the demon magic that was eating away at my body. "What did you do? How did you..." She cut me off and told me to stay quiet. I've never felt such admiration for a person like her before, but she was something else. The memory faded for a moment, but the more I thought of The Healer an immense amount of memories flooded back, one after another until it settled on our last meeting together. The Demons had been quiet for a year and The Healer and I had gotten closer as friends, perhaps more, but I was seemingly blind to those sorts of advances. I felt many emotions as I talked with The Healer, and she had seen what I hid underneath the mask. My face, the details of my life before The Demons attacked. Everything. "The Shopkeeper found a Timeline where a Messenger is needed...and Their world is vastly similar to my old one...I don't want to leave you, but...It's destiny I think. We can...stay in touch cant we?" The Healer asked me as we walked together around Forlorn Temple. I pull The Healer closer to me as we walked around to a cliffside just a few feet away from Forlorn Temple, No Demons in sight and the only living beings in the area were us. I began to thank The Healer for giving me a newfound purpose in my life. She had done so much for me, and I can't put into proper words about how she gave me a new outlook on life. Without her in my life, I would be lost...or worse, and of course, I said that we would stay in touch, no matter what.

The Healer is a special person in my life, and I will hold her close to my heart. Without her, I would be lost in my own personal void, or I would be nothing but Dust and Echoes. The Memories soon halted, but for the first time since starting this journey, I took off my mask and cried. The Emotions began flooding back as I remember the face of The Healer. Her actions speak louder than words, and I'm lucky to still have her in my life, Because...truthfully she saved us...

She Saved Me.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Impact Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Theorist remembers his true reason for fighting against The Demon Leviathan and The Messengers learn more information on their foe, as well as learning about each other.

Back below the depths of Hollowing Grotto the once defunct city of Automaton Arcadia was stirring back to life as the power source was reignited and the trio that consisted of The Artist, The Guardian, and The Zhinobi stood at amazement at the impressive clockwork mechanisms that whirred with a newfound purpose. The city shone brightly and the group watched as the once frozen in place mechanical citizens sprang to life and continued as if they were never frozen in the first place, one such citizen approached the group that differed from the rest of the Automatons. "I am Ezekiel, one of the first Automatons that was created in this fair city, even though we remained frozen without our primary power source I still recorded every new detail within this timeline," Ezekiel said as the gears within his chest spun and contorted to give his body a more fluid movement, though some of the gears within his chest cavity was broken, and many halted his movements to a certain degree he was able to stagger forward towards the group. Ezekiel motioned for the group to follow him, in doing so several small screws fell from whatever crevices on his mechanical arm. Ezekiel was entirely clockwork from head to toe, while many of the more modern Automatons had chest plates and strange rubber-like faces, Ezekiel stood out from the rest. The group quietly followed Ezekiel throughout the city towards a large dome-like building that at some point had collapsed, but the Automatons were working effortlessly to rebuild as quickly as they could for their new guests. The group stopped in front of the building when the top half of Ezekiel's body spun around, while his lower half stood completely still, as that part was still facing towards the building. "Please allow me to scan your memories so that I may gain more knowledge on who you all are, and so that I may understand your motive for coming to this timeline that is not of your origins." The group had no idea what Ezekiel was saying but agreed to let him do his thing. He began to scan the group, one at a time but added that this would take a while. The group stood there for quite some time and wasn't allowed to move or fidget around otherwise the process would take longer.

Meanwhile above the ocean, nearing Voodkin Island I had been riding on Simurgh, the ash that was falling from the sky managed to calm down and make the air more breathable within the area. However, it became more blatantly obvious that the ash had covered a majority of the island and whatever once inhabited the island was no longer alive. Even the many demons that are native to the island were either choking on ash or already bones and melted flesh. I swooped down and told Simurgh to go find someplace safe to rest away from the island, as I couldn't allow him to breathe in this foul air. With my mask on it was already proving to be difficult to breathe, even with the magical protections I cast on my mask. "I need to make my way to Fire Mountain and find out what I need to find...even though it seems like a damn near impossible task. The Archivist couldn't have just saved me time and told me exactly what I wanted to hear--" The howling wind and come to a standstill, and the air became easier to breathe suddenly. I know what was happening and I waited to hear his voice echoing within the abyss. I turned around and I was on that familiar plane of existence where the night sky surrounded me and the ground was a thin veil of water. "Theorist, you've become a lot more agitated haven't you?" I heard the familiar voice, but the more I hear his voice the more I realize that it's more than just a singular voice. The Archivist's familiarity was that of his voice, it was more than just one voice calling out to me within this abyss, it was several vastly different voices overlapping with each other until it finally decided on one voice, in particular, a voice that sounds dusty and one that consistently made it seem like he was always distant, even if he was stood in front of me. "Archivist...I'm beginning to suspect that my involvement within this timeline will have been for nothing. I'm losing hope." I said to him, however, I begin to see more details on him than I saw previously. His robes were tattered and poorly stitched together in several places, many pieces of fabric were losing their colour and the faint smell of Garlic and Rotten Eggs are a bit more aware...no, not Garlic and Rotten Eggs, I realize that he was once an Alchemist from what he shared with me many years ago. It's Phosphorus and Sulfur. "Theorist, You must understand that I cannot tell you what your future may hold, you lost that right when you asked me about The Healer and her future." Her name, it still hurts my heart to not have her here by my side. The Archivist raised his hand towards my face and I felt a rush of emotions emerge at once, I know what he was doing. He was forcing my memories to come back again. I finally understand why they were coming back to me, it was him. He was the one making me have these flashbacks. 

The memories flooded back and I'm stood within The Tower of Time, holding hands with The Healer. Her lengthy brown hair reached the back of her knees and he tunic was always kept in tip-top shape, even though the odd green and brown colour combination seemed strange, I never questioned it. "I'm sorry that I must go so soon, I greatly appreciated the time I spent with you...I wish I didn't have to leave you." The Healer hugged me tightly, and I didn't want her to let go. I hugged her tightly in return but I could feel The Artificer tugging my cloak and telling me that I need to let her go home. I watched as she slowly walked through The Dimensional Window, but felt that her timeline was corrupted in away, and it was. I watched slowly as The Demon King in my timeline had made his way there after their battle in Forlorn Temple...He had been waiting for her to return so that he could destroy her timeline with her in it. To torture me. In a fit of rage, I attempted to rush through The Dimensional Window but was stopped as the glass shards separated and her timeline was no longer available. I lost her, and I felt like a piece of my soul was ripped apart.

I fade back into reality where I remained still in front of The Archivist. "Why did you show that memory to me...WHY?!" I gripped my Naginata tightly and was about to unleash my anger and rage on him. "I showed you that memory to help you remember what you're fighting for. If you can destroy The Demon Leviathan, his damage across all Dimensions will be undone. You are fighting to bring her back, to save them all." The Theorist said quietly. I removed my mask in front of him and felt the tears rolling down my face, or what was left of it. The demon magic had made it's way up my neck and spread to my face. I was barely alive at this point, but The Healer's healing touch kept me moving. In some ways, I feel like her love is keeping me alive. I was mostly ash and bones at this point, but the only other person to see me in my current state was The Healer. "Theorist, I do greatly apologize for my lack of guidance, but you need to understand that if I tell you everything, then the course that's set out for you will change and I will not be able to help you." He said as he paced back and forth with his arms behind his back. I understood him more clearly this time, and I wasn't going to let this get me down. The Archivist helped me remember my goal, My true goal. The air was hard to breathe again and soon a wave of ash swept past my face and I was back on Voodkin Island, I started my trek through the knee-high ash, towards Fire Mountain.

Back in Automaton Arcadia, the group stood absolutely still as Ezekiel finally scanned the last detail on The Zhinobi. "I am finally finished mapping out every detail on each of your bodies! Now I can assess you all properly one at a time." Ezekiel said as his upper body spun back around to its original position and turned around properly to face the group. "The Artist stands at a 5'7, with shoulder-length brunette hair, green eyes, and primarily uses a short-sword for attacks, however when it comes to magic she equips a paintbrush that is imbued with the power that The Scroll gave to her to bring life into objects, she has a nervous habit of fiddling with her thumbs and playing with her hair when she doesn't know what to do with herself, and she wears garb that is similar to a painter," Ezekiel said to The Artist as she struggled to hold her ground, but succumbed to playing with her hair instead. Ezekiel turned his gaze to The Guardian and began to describe him in detail to the group. "The Guardian stands at an impressive 6'2, with short hair, brown eyes, and uses a katana that is imbued with power from The Scroll that gives its user the ability to...Oh...Interesting. Anyways, You have a habit of always holding onto your katana as if you are always ready for a fight, and finally, you wear ancient armour that is akin to a mix between Samurai Armour and Shinobi Armour." Ezekiel bowed his head to The Guardian in a way as if to respect him, Ezekiel turned his head to The Zhinobi finally and described her loud and clear. "The Zhinobi stands at a mighty 5'9 with curly brown hair that is merely shoulder-length although barely, blue eyes, and uses a spear that is also imbued with the power of The Scroll that allows the gemstones on the spear to direct its user to a location of the users choosing, The Zhinobi wears similar garb of that of The Ninja Clan in a Timeline of a successful Messenger, She also fiddles with the ribbons on her weapon as a nervous tick." Ezekiel finally finished describing everyone out loud and turned around to show everyone what is inside the now fixed and completely revamped dome building. Inside was strange clockwork technology that nobody in the group recognized. Pictures that floated and were see-through, metal boxes that showed different locations on the island, as if they were miniaturized, and in the center of the room was a near-invisible sculpture of the island that showed similar properties of the floating pictures on a clockwork table. "This building allows us to see everything on the island, this technology was left behind from a world before The Great Flood and was gifted to us when we were all created. This will allow us to find a weakness in this...Demon Leviathan you are now tasked to face. Ezekiel waved his hand over the clockwork table and a smaller version of The Demon Leviathan stood still on the table. "The Demon Leviathan, Stands at an incredible 500 feet tall, Three Yellowed eyes with Red Irises, One on his forehead and the other two in their regular position. Razer sharp fangs protrude from his jaw and dagger-like claws that drip with an unknown black ooze. His body is primarily demonic in a sense that it is covered in bony scales, and also an unknown black ooze drips from every crevice on his body, and his wings stretch to be half the size of The Island. His knees and elbows have bones protruding from them and his crown is fused with his skull to form golden horns. This is The Final Form of The Demon King." Ezekiel made the image of The Demon Leviathan appear larger around his head. "The eye at the center of his forehead seems like a dead giveaway for a weak spot, but we would first need a weapon of archaic origins to forcefully stop this black ooze from covering his vital organs and spots that are weak. To find such a weapon, I believe your Theorist is on his way to Fire Mountain to obtain it." Ezekiel waved his hand that the clockwork table dimmed and the images disappeared. The group had a long journey ahead of them and it wouldn't stop here, they had the info that they needed and soon they would eventually need to use this knowledge to their advantage. Whether they have enough time to make it to the final battle is unknown. For now.


End file.
